


RULE

by CatWinchester



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23328916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatWinchester/pseuds/CatWinchester
Summary: Loki won at the end of Avengers and imposed his rule on the people of Earth. Now Thor has returned to free humanity from his tyranny . . . only the humans don't seem very keen on that idea.Former anti-Loki terrorist, now Loki's fiancé, Rhiannon, meets Thor and his warriors and attempts to show him the improvements that Loki has made to society. Can Thor put aside his prejudices, or will he ruin all the good Loki has done under the guise of freeing the Earth?
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Present Day**

Rhiannon watched as the beam of light hit Trafalgar Square and after sharing a look with the guards on either side of her, she took a deep breath, plastered a smile on her face, and prepared to greet their guests.

“I am Thor of Asgard,” a voice boomed before the light of the bifrost had even dimmed. Just in case everyone hadn’t noticed the giant beam of light, the lightning strike hitting his hammer a moment later, along with the accompanying thunder, ensured that hardly a soul in greater London failed to notice his arrival. “I have come for the traitor, Loki! Where is he?” 

“Oh crap,” Rhiannon sighed, her smile falling away. 

The passers-by were crowding around the arrivals, jeering and this being a busy metropolis like London, the crowd quickly swelled. 

“Help me make a path,” she said to her two guards as people began throwing things, and they helped her push through the crowd to the middle where Thor and his friends were waiting. 

“Everyone, please,” she turned her back to Thor, trusting her guards to literally watch her back while she addressed the crowd. 

The crowd quieted almost immediately.

“Nothing is going to happen to Loki, you can go about your business safe in the knowledge that Loki invited his brother here, and all is well in the House of Friggason.” 

The people now just looked confused and curious. 

“Please do not jeer our honoured guests.” She ducked as a coffee cup sailed past her and judging from the startled grunt she heard behind her, hit found its target. “Or throw things at them.” She lowered her voice and tried injecting some warmth. “Remember the uncertainty you felt when Loki became our leader, and try to understand that our visitors know nothing of how life on Earth has changed in the past eight years. Be kind to them.”

There were some murmurs from the crowd, but mostly they just seemed curious now, and eager to see what was going to happen. 

Rhiannon turned back to the Aesir. 

“Prince Thor,” she bowed but not particularly low. “Welcome to Earth.” She stood upright and kept her gaze on Thor, ignoring for the moment the Warriors Three and Sif, who had accompanied him. 

“Where are the others we travelled with,” Thor demanded, “the Einherjar?” 

“Loki does not wish to fight with you, Thor. He couldn’t allow you to bring your soldiers here, but he allowed your friends through. He hopes that you will show patience and allow me to show you how well the Earth is doing.” 

Thor looked around and saw a world much like the one he’d had come to when he was banished to Earth by Odin, except no one here was looking kindly at him now. 

“Where is Loki?” Sif demanded, stepping forward. 

“I’ll take you to him. I’m Rhiannon, by the way, people generally call me Rhi or Ray.” She held her hand out and after a hesitation, Thor shook it. “These are my friends, Sarah and Peter.” 

“Guards, more like,” Sif murmured. 

“True,” Rhiannon nodded. “Loki insisted, I’m afraid, but we all know that human guards could do little against Aesir warriors.” 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Rhiannon,” Thor butted in to ease tensions. “These are my friends, Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, and the Lady Sif.” 

Rhiannon bowed her head at each as Thor pointed them out. “Very pleased to meet you all, I’ve heard much about you. If you’ll come this way, I’ll take you to Loki.” 

She turned and walked away, her guards staying close but not crowding her. The crowd parted for them and slowly began to disperse, although all eyes remained on them. 

Thor followed after her but he was clearly nonplussed. 

“I’m a little confused by events,” he admitted, falling into step beside her. 

“I’m sure,” she smiled. “I’ve arranged lunch not far from here, so we’ll have plenty of time to chat.” 

“Why did my army not come through the portal?” he asked again. 

“Loki’s magic has been keeping you off Earth, or Midgard, as you call it. When he decided to let you visit, we thought it best not to allow the Einherjar as well. We don’t want to start another war, and I’m afraid humans would be sadly out matched by your people.” 

“You speak as if you would fight for Loki.” 

“Did you not hear those people when you first arrived?” 

“It was a trick, some kind of mind control. Loki clearly has you all in his thrall!” 

“No.” Rhiannon smiled and shook her head. “When Loki first arrived, there was much resistance. I was a part of it, and I tried to assassinate him on many occasions, but over time it became clear that he wanted what was best for the Earth.” 

“I don’t believe you,” Thor challenged. 

“I don’t expect you do, but a lot has happened in the eight years you’ve been gone.” She stepped up to a door and opened it. “Please, after you.” 

Thor strode into the restaurant and looked around. “Where is Loki, I thought you were taking us to him?” 

“I am, but I didn’t say he would be joining us for lunch. Loki is in Europe at the moment, and we will be joining him there.” 

They were shown to a table and all sat down. 

“If Loki knew we were coming, why not open a portal to his location?” Volstagg asked. 

“Because I advised him not to,” Rhiannon explained. “From everything he’s told me about the Aesir, you’re a ‘hit first and ask questions later’ kind of people. I and others knew you wouldn’t believe anything Loki had to say, so we advised him to be elsewhere when you arrived. I volunteered to come and meet you, then as we journey to him, you can see for yourself how happy we are under his rule.” 

“No, it’s a trick,” Fandral said, but with a slight smile on his face, as though he expected Loki to pop out yelling ‘Surprise!’

“There is no trick,” Rhiannon assured them, looking to Sarah and Peter who nodded in agreement. 

“Honestly, life is way better now,” Sarah agreed. 

“And our wages have gone up like 70%. I think the average wage increase is about that too.” 

“And what do you do?” Thor asked them, sounding wary. 

“We’re police officers,” Sarah replied. 

“Don’t you have a uniform?” 

“I asked them not to wear it,” Rhiannon explained. “I thought it best if we all dressed casually.” 

“But what about weapons?” Hogun asked. 

“British police don’t carry guns,” Peter explained. 

“We have got Tasers,” Sarah offered, “although I seriously doubt that scares you lot.” 

Thor shuddered slightly but too much was happening for Rhiannon to ask the reason he disliked Tasers. 

“We’re here to make sure Rhiannon is safe, crowd control, that sort of thing.” Peter added, but Rhiannon wished he hadn’t said that. 

“Crowd control? Do you often get mobbed?” Fandral asked her. 

“Since her engagement to Loki was announced, she does,” Sarah offered. 

“You’re marrying Loki?” Sif sounded disgusted. 

“Yes,” Rhiannon said, no shame on her face at all; she might not have wanted to address this but she wasn’t ashamed. “The head of the London resistance is marrying the nasty invader she tried to kill three times. Is that okay with you?” 

Sif scoffed but Fandral laughed, asking, “Should I offer my congratulations?” 

“No need to sound so hesitant,” Rhiannon assured him. “I’m very happy with him.” 

“I think perhaps you’d better start at the beginning,” Thor suggested. 

***

**December 2012**

The plan had worked perfectly. Over the past few months Rhiannon and three of her comrades had worked their way into Loki’s personal staff and carefully, a little each day, smuggled in the explosives and equipment necessary to make a bomb. 

The electronic components they smuggled past security inside a mobile phone and the plastic explosive was moulded into the shape of a teddy bear and clipped onto her handbag, like a keyring. It had the consistency of plasticine or playdough and after being kept in the fridge overnight, was quite solid, she and the others just had to be careful not to knock it on anything. 

Rhiannon was employed as one of Loki’s secretaries, her job, along with five other women, was to distil reports from around the world into helpful bulletins for Loki, ranked in order of urgency. 

Rhiannon had got the job because as well English, she was fluent in Spanish, French and German, as well as knowing a little Portuguese and Dutch.

Her three co-conspirators were working as cleaners since that gave them access to his office, and some of the cleaning chemicals they used, such as acetone and hydrogen peroxide, could be used to make bombs and would increase the payload of their device. Each evening they cleaned his office and day by day, they built the bomb, sometimes hiding electrical components, sometimes hiding the plastic explosives. The cleaning fluids were being ordered a little at a time and would be brought to his office on the cleaning cart and would just be used to enhance the explosive power of the plastics. 

The cleaners worked in pairs and work schedules changed daily for security reasons, so those cleaning Loki‘s office weren’t always paired with a fellow rebel and able to leave supplies, but slowly they built up enough plastic explosives and they waited patiently until two of them were tasked with cleaning his office on the same night.

Since Loki’s timetable varied, Rhiannon’s task was too manually set off the bomb when he entered the office. She, along with the other translators, worked from an office near Loki’s so they were on hand for breaking news, and she had a clear view of him arriving each morning. 

That day she got in early so that the bomb could be detonated the moment Loki arrived, hopefully before he had any meetings so that no one else would be hurt. The bomb was in his desk so Loki would receive the full blast, while they had calculated that this building should be able to withstand the force of the bomb, although with the added cleaning chemicals, Rhiannon wasn’t as sure of that as she would have liked. It was possible that some people may be hurt but with a little luck, she was confident that Loki would be the only fatality. 

There had been other attempts on his life, of course, but they probably hadn’t planned as well as Rhiannon and her friends had, but she knew their plan was good and she really thought that they would succeed. She thought that the other assassination attempts had failed because of incompetence, or poor planning, or any number of mistakes which could derail even the best plans. 

Well her plan would not be derailed, she thought as she spied Loki walking past her office. She grabbed the detonator, which looked like a mobile phone and she jogged out of her office, walking behind Loki. 

It was still early so the place was quiet, most people who had arrived for work were in the breakroom, eating breakfast or topping up caffeine levels before they got started. She saw two other people in their offices as she passed them and she could only hope that they would be okay. 

Loki cut a very elegant figure in his suits and were he anything other than a monster, she would be admiring the view right now, but he was and she had a job to do. 

Her breathing was ragged and she did her best to control it, worried that even from ten feet away he might hear her, but he never turned around. His assistant wasn’t outside his office yet, and Rhiannon gave thanks that another person was out of danger. 

Loki entered his office and Rhiannon stopped moving as soon as his door closed. 

“One one-thousand,” she whispered. “Two one-thousand, three one-thousand.” The cleaning staff had carefully timed how long it took to walk from the door to sit behind the desk. “Seven one-thousand, eight one-thousand-”

Her sweaty thumb pressed the call button and . . . nothing happened. 

She pressed it again and again and again, stepping closer in case she was too far away, although this should work over a distance of 50 feet, she’d been told, and through walls. 

Then an almighty bang nocked her off her feet, just in time for a heavy wooden door to sail past where her head had been moments ago. 

They’d done it. They’d done it! People began to scream as she grinned. THEY’D DONE IT!!

It wasn’t until he walked out of his room, covered in soot and with his suit torn and scorched but otherwise unharmed, that the truth dawned on her. It wasn’t that those other people hadn’t failed or messed up, it was that human weapons couldn’t harm him. Well, maybe a nuke, but she didn’t have one of those handy. What she did have was the paring knife she had stolen from the kitchen weeks ago and stored in her desk. 

In for a penny, in for a pound, as her mum used to say, she got to her feet and with a primal scream, ran at him, the knife held before her. 

Needless to say, he stopped her with ease by grabbing her wrist. 

He looked furious but after a moment his features cleared as he recognised her and she would swear he looked hurt. 

She almost felt bad, after all, he had trusted her. But it didn’t matter how personable he was, he was an alien conqueror and he _deserved_ to have his staff turn on him.

His features hardened once again but other than perhaps holding her wrist a little too tightly, he didn’t harm her, even although she kicked and struck at him in an attempt to get free. 

“Take her to the cells in the basement,” he told the security guards as they arrived. 

She was dragged away but she turned back as she heard Loki roar, just in time to see him put his fist through the wall beside his door. 

Although they hadn’t come into work, her friends and co-conspirators were quickly rounded up and placed in the cells beside her by lunchtime. 

She expected torture, or at least questioning. Instead her cell was reasonably comfortable, the food was the same as was served in the palace above and there were no screams of torture from the other prisoners. She kept asking what was happening but the guards wouldn’t tell her. 

After her second night in the cell she was taken out and she thought that now was when the horror would begin, especially when she was brought in front of Loki. The guards sat her down on a chair opposite the desk Loki sat behind, then they stood either side of her, guarding her in case she made a run for it, which, even with horrible odds, she was seriously considering. 

“Leave us,” Loki commanded and although the guards shared a look, they left the room. 

Loki watched her like predator and although she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, she stared back and tried not to show how frightened she was. 

Finally he sat forward. “Why did you try to kill me?” he asked his tone conversational, and perhaps a little confused. 

“You invaded my planet. You enslaved my people!” 

“I’m trying to help!” he yelled, slamming his fist on the desk and causing her to flinch. He seemed disgusted by her cowardice and he got up and began pacing. 

“We don’t need your help!” she yelled, finding her courage once again.

“Of course you do!” he snapped back. “Your politicians are corrupt, you place profit over human life, you allow the elite few to hoard your wealth and resources, you pollute your planet, harm and kill each other- I could go on. You need help. Help I can give.” 

“We believe in democracy and we didn’t elect you, _King_ Loki.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Whatever you’re called, we will never agree to your rule because it’s undemocratic.” 

“Your system is flawed, your elected officials are out for themselves, not the people who elected them, and decisions are made via backroom deals, not the democratic process they would have you believe is happening.” 

“And you’re above it all?” she scoffed. 

“I simply want to make Midgard a better place.” 

“You can’t!” 

“I have,” he argued. “I’ve reversed as much damage to your atmosphere as I can, caused by your pollution. I’ve invested in new technologies, I have plans to improve the infrastructure globally, beginning with developing countries. Already drought and food shortages are almost a thing of the past.” 

“Yes, and people are working on those projects because you’re forcing them to! We are not slaves!” 

“They aren’t slaves!” Loki growled. “They are paid a very fair wage for their work and no one has been forced into anything.” 

“Except living under your rule!” 

Loki gave an exasperated sigh and sat back down. “What would you do?” he demanded. 

“I don’t understand.” 

“If you were me, what would you do?” 

“Kill myself.” She glared at him. 

Loki glared right back. “Assume everything I’ve told you is true, that I want to help the people of Midgard, and that I have no suicidal tendencies. What would you do?” 

Rhiannon shook her head but the bark of laughter that usually accompanied such an action wouldn’t come, and instead she found herself actually considering the question. 

Then it occurred to her that he wanted something from her. 

“I’ll tell you, I’ll answer any weird and wonderful questions you may have, but only if you free my friends.” 

“The guards didn’t tell you? They’re already free.” 

“They’re…?” 

“Free, yes. No one was hurt so your only crime was property damage, and as you can see, I’ve already repaired that.”

He gestured around himself and she realised they were in the office that she had blown up, and it looked as good as new. She’d just assumed they were on a different floor or something. 

“Imprisoning you would only add credence to your claims that I’m a monster and I have no wish to martyr you or your friends.” He leaned his head back against his leather office chair and looked at the ceiling. “You can go too, if you wish. I don’t expect you’ll want to keep your job here, will you? It’s a shame, you were very professional.” 

“This is a trick.” 

“It’s not.” He looked over at her and sat forward. “Go on, go. Leave, see for yourself.” 

She didn’t move. 

“GO!” he yelled, bringing his hand down on the desk with such force that it sounded like a bullet and she flinched again, but that gave her the impetus she needed to leave so she ran from the room. 

She sprinted outside the building and found her friends waiting on the street. So he really had let them go. 

They seemed as bewildered by the turn of events as she was so they made their way to a local café so they could talk. 

They wondered if it was a trap, if perhaps they were bugged and were supposed to lead the authorities back to other members of the resistance, but they each went into the toilets and could find no bugs or homing devices. 

They bought new clothes and shoes anyway, dumping the old ones. 

They checked into a cheap hotel for a few nights but nothing happened, no strange people were seen watching or following them. Rhiannon even returned to the palace and waited outside a few times to see if they would follow her when she left, but nothing happened. She couldn’t help looking for signs of the blast while she dawdled though, although the only sign was some lighter bricks on the building’s exterior wall.

After a week her friends left London and returned to their families, but Rhiannon found herself returning to the palace. 

She knew now that Loki wasn’t going anywhere because human weapons simply didn’t kill him. A nuclear bomb might but since the news had reported they had all been disabled by some hackers, that was unlikely to be a viable option, for a while at least. So if Loki was their leader, then she could at least do something to help ensure that he ruled them well. What was the saying, if you can’t beat them, join them? 

She stood outside the palace for the best part of an hour, walking up and down the street, trying to pluck the courage up to approach. 

She’d been surprised when she’d heard that Loki had taken over St James's Palace rather than somewhere like Buckingham Palace or Westminster, somewhere more intimidating and with more prestige. Built in the 1500s St James’s was really rather modest for a palace. 

He’d eventually expanded to take over Clarence House, Lancaster House and York House and Rhiannon suspected it wouldn’t be long until he had to clear out more surrounding buildings as his staff needs increased. 

Finally she decided she was being an idiot and taking her confidence in hand, she strode up to the security guards and handed them her bag. She saw them looking for the little teddy keychain that used to be attached to her bag but they didn’t say anything to her, just searched the bag and handed it back. 

She nodded in thanks and approached the reception desk.

“I’d like to see Loki,” she told the Linda, the building’s receptionist. 

“Is he expecting you?” Linda sneered. She liked Loki. Most people here did, or they pretended to. 

“No, but he asked me a question and I have an answer for him.” 

“He’s busy today but if you want to take a seat, I might be able to find five minutes for you.” 

Rhiannon knew Linda had no intention of letting her see Loki, but she knew she must be notorious around here and if she sat in the lobby for long enough, word would eventually reach Loki. 

***

Loki was trying to suppress a smirk as Rhiannon was led into his office, although he wasn’t exactly trying hard. 

“Couldn’t stay away?” he asked. “Because I’m sorry to inform you, but we’ve filled your position.” 

“You asked me a question, I thought you might want to hear the answer.” 

Loki considered her for a moment, then gestured to the chair opposite. She sat down but perched on the edge, unsure how her words would be taken. She couldn’t help glancing around however, looking for any trace of the bomb blast. 

“Would you like refreshments?” he asked, the picture of civility. He was wearing another beautifully tailored suit again, one she would admire if it were anyone else wearing it. 

“No, thank you.” The civility of the encounter unnerved her but she was used to controlling her fear around him. 

“Straight down to business then. So what’s the answer, what would you do if you were me?” 

“If you’re really serious about being a good leader, I’d fire almost everyone around you.” 

His head tilted to the side as he considered her. “Interesting. I can’t wait to hear your reasoning.” 

“You’re surrounded by sycophants and dilettantes,” she explained. “Everyone on Earth hates you, except those who could see that you were… inevitable, and to protect their own interests they sided with you. People like that never tell you the truth because the truth can alienate, they only ever say either what they think you want to hear, or what benefits them.” 

He seemed receptive to her idea and she wondered if it had occurred to him too. 

“So who would you suggest I replace them with?” he asked.

“People who want the best for Earth, maybe even people who don’t like you and will tell you the brutal truth.” 

“And where do I find such people?” 

“I’d start with the Avengers,” she told him. “You’ve got a Russian in the Black Widow, then you have someone who has travelled extensively, often living among the lower classes with the Hulk, a billionaire in Iron Man, an orphan raised in care with Hawkeye and,” she smiled slightly, “a pensioner in Captain America. They're a fairly diverse group.” 

“You know a lot about the Avengers,” he noted. 

“Most resistance fighters do, they’re our inspiration.” 

Loki’s smile widened. 

“I’d add a few more women to that list,” she continued, “Make the balance of your advisers 50/50.” 

“And people from other continents,” Loki added. 

“Of course,” she nodded. “But I was going to suggest you have representatives from different countries and regions form a council, so they can tell you what they need because while there’ll be a lot in common in what each region needs, England for example, will need vastly different things to, say, the Middle East.” 

“What does the Middle East need that England does not?” 

“ISIS needs to be stopped, everyone needs to stop bombing Syria, which also needs rebuilding. Some regions still have misogynistic things like honour killings, female genital mutilation, some places don’t let women go out alone or drive. And that’s just off the top of my head.” 

“Good advice indeed,” he flashed her a predatory smile. “Thank you for coming back.” 

She scowled, unwilling to acknowledge that she felt good being praised by this monster, or that she liked his smile.

“Thank you for seeing me,” she stood up. “And good luck.” She got to her feet but Loki’s voice stopped her from leaving. 

“You’re wishing me luck?” 

She met his penetrating gaze. “If you mean what you say and you want to make Midgard a better place,” she shrugged. “I can’t kill you, so my only hope is that you’re telling the truth, in which case, good luck with it.” She turned and walked towards the door. 

“How would you feel about being one of my advisors?” Loki asked, stopping her in her tracks once more. 

Rhiannon turned back slowly. 

“Why?” 

“Because you’ve just proved that you can be brutally honest.” 

She wondered why she was hesitating. She hated this man, had hated him for 7 months in fact, so much so that she should just tell him to go to hell and storm out. 

Loki stood up and came around the desk. 

“You’re tempted,” he told her smugly. “You clearly have nothing to go home for or you wouldn’t have come back.” 

“I wanted-” 

“You could have sent a letter.” 

She stared at him as he approached, feeling rather like prey that was being stalked by a predator. It wasn’t a bad feeling though, more . . . exciting. 

“I have a life to go back to, a job, a home-” 

“But I can give your life purpose. If you work with me, you can literally change the world.” He passed behind her and her breath caught in her throat as she imagined him speaking directly into her ear with his silky-smooth voice. “How many people can say that?” 

“What are the terms?” she found herself asking. 

Loki came back into her eyeline and shrugged. “A hundred thousand pounds a year, accommodation provided, you’ll have to travel with me most of the time.” 

Her jaw dropped open in shock. “Is that what you’re paying your advisers right now?” 

“The lesser ones, why?” 

“That’s at least three times what teachers earn! And for what, giving you an opinion now and then?” 

Loki’s mirth fled and Rhiannon felt a frisson of fear. 

“What?” he demanded. 

“You want to pay me three times what a teacher earns for a fraction of the work.”

Loki looked appalled. “These people teach your children! They are quite literally entrusted with the future of your civilisation, and you expect to attract the best by paying them a pittance?” 

“No, I don’t, but teachers pay wasn’t my decision.” 

“Well your government’s then, why do they pay so little?” 

“I suppose because they can, because they don’t value teachers, and they don’t have the money to pay much.” 

“Why not? Your economy is thriving.” 

“True, but when the richest one percent in the world are hoarding half of the world’s wealth for themselves, then have the gall to use tax havens to hide trillions, it’s easy to understand why governments aren’t as rich as they could be.” 

“Why don’t your lawmakers do something about it?” he demanded. 

“Have you looked around your followers, Loki?” she demanded, starting to lose her cool now. “They are all part of the one percent, and they’ve all sucked up to you so that you let them keep their billions. Who gave you this place,” she gestured to the building around them. “Do you think most Londoners live in places with 60 rooms? Newsflash, they don’t. Most people who work in London can’t actually afford to live here, because rents are too high and wages too low, and no one but the super-rich can afford to actually buy a London property. You were given this place, and all the others you stay in, by wealthy people to keep you sweet, and guess what? It worked!” 

“One percent own half of the world’s wealth?” he asked. 

“Yes.” 

“No wonder your teachers are so poorly paid.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the first chapter showed as a finished fic. I forgot to check the multi chapter box! Doh.

**Chapter Two**

**Present Day**

“Wait, so where were the Chitauri?” Thor asked interrupting her story as she paid the bill. 

“Yes, and why were people just going about their daily lives, as if nothing had happened?” Fandral added. 

“Well nothing had happened for most people, their lives went on as normal.” Rhiannon explained as she handed the cash to the waitress with a healthy tip and a, “Thank you.” 

“And the soldiers?” Sif prompted as they got up from the table. 

“In the beginning the Chitauri spread around the world, making it a police state, but after New York fell and the Avengers lost, people couldn’t see themselves succeeding where superheroes failed so the opposition was minimal. Some countries tried to launch bombs but some kind of virus had wiped out most weapons computers. It came out of nowhere and spread like wildfire, even to computers not networked or on the internet. I guess that nuke they launched at New York gave Loki notice that other people might try that, and he made sure they couldn’t. I didn’t understand it back then but now I realise it was some sort of magical computer virus, not programming code like we understand it.” 

“So no one fought?” Sif asked as they left and headed outside. Rhiannon guided them to a luxury minibus which she had arranged to drive them to the train. 

“No, of course we did, just not in large numbers, and uprisings were easily quelled.” 

“Did you fight?” Thor asked her. 

“I did. When the Chitauri arrived in London I went to fight them, but I got knocked unconscious by something and woke up when the fight was over. I went home, watched the news, then set about searching online for resistance groups. I found one, and we met covertly, planning and strategizing. We found other groups online and were roughly coordinating our actions, but we stayed as separate cells so we couldn’t give each other up if captured. Of course, Loki wasn’t in the UK then, so all we could do was disrupt some plans. We planted bombs, vandalised machinery, anything we could to delay and disadvantage Loki and his alien army.” 

“But you said you tried to kill him three times,” Volstagg queried. “You only told us about two, the bomb and the knife.” 

“Loki went on tour after his victory, and it took him nearly two months but when he got to England, we arranged an assassination attempt. It wasn’t easy but I managed to buy a sniper rifle and one of our band was a former army officer. We went up to the Highlands in Scotland so he could teach us how to shoot and the best marksman was picked to continue training, then take Loki out. She stayed up in Scotland, practising, while the rest of us planned.” 

Her smile dimmed then. “The bullet did nothing, of course. Our leader, the sniper and a two others were caught. I managed to hide the rest until we could get away. I took over the group and we started planning for our next opportunity.” 

“And Loki decided to settle in England,” Thor guessed. “Allowing you your opportunity.” 

“He hasn’t really settled,” Rhiannon explained. “He travels a lot, making sure all the countries under his care are taken care of, but he’s usually back home at the end of the day so he can sleep in his own bed.” 

“And where is he now?” Fandral asked. 

“The south of France. Tomorrow he moves on to Spain, and we should meet up with him there, or in Portugal.” 

“And the Chitauri?” Sif reminded her. 

They had arrived at the railway station now and Rhiannon herded them from the bus and into the station. 

“The Chitauri died when Loki closed the portal two days after he arrived,” she explained as they walked. 

“Loki cut himself off from his backers?” Thor asked incredulously. 

Rhiannon paused and looked at him. 

“Loki didn’t invade by choice, Thor. His ‘backers’ were his torturers, he had no choice but to come here . . . although granted, taking over the world was his idea, but he didn’t do any of it to hurt you, no matter what he said.” 

“Then why?” 

“I’ll get to that but if we don’t leave now, we’ll miss our train.” 

***

**February 2013**

Rhiannon entered Loki’s office without knocking. It turned out that Loki valued efficiency so while unexpected visitors would have to knock, those he had called for were expected to simply enter. She was surprised to see Loki standing in the middle of his office though, waiting for her. 

“Loki”, she nodded coolly at him. 

“Strike me,” he ordered. 

“Pardon?” 

“Hit me.”

They were just back from a whirlwind trip through South America and she was still feeling tired and jetlagged, so she rather relished the idea of punching him. She stopped short of that however, worried that she might break her hand, and settled for slapping him around the face with as much force as her dominant right hand could muster. 

“OW, FUCK!” she cried, grabbing her left cheek. “The fuck was that?” 

Really, she silently chastised herself, his smug smirk should have alerted her that this was a trick of some description. 

“You pack more power than I expected,” Loki noted, flexing his jaw. 

“What the hell was that!” she demanded. 

“A new spell I’m trying.” He smiled, evidently proud of himself. “Do you remember the report I commissioned on violence last week?” he asked, turning away and heading for a jug of water that had been delivered before she got here. 

“Of course.” 

“Yes, well how to stop it has been bothering me ever since, especially violence between intimate partners, which is so rarely reported and so often deadly for the victim.” 

“Okay?” she really couldn’t figure out where he was going with this. 

Loki approached and handed her the water glass, which she accepted in shock. Loki was usually polite but rarely so solicitous. 

She sipped the icy water, then decided it was better to use the cool glass to sooth her throbbing cheek. 

“This spell won’t stop people being violent, but it will mean that they too will feel the full force of their actions.”

Her mind was bombarded with questions but she couldn’t figure out which one to ask first. Maybe she’d him harder than she realised. 

“It works very simply,” Loki began to explain. “The spell uses the mind stone and it senses the intent in one party to do harm, then it senses in the other party the degree of pain felt, and that same pain is reflected back onto the first party.” 

That actually sounded simple enough. 

“What about accidents?”

“Where there is no intent to harm, then the spell will not function.”

She nodded, carefully rolling the ice cold class over her cheek, not caring if she looked like a fool while he looked flawless. 

“Can you think of anything I have missed?” he asked. 

Rhiannon ran through the various ways someone could be injured by another. 

“What if the injury is a killing blow?” she asked. 

“The spell does no physical harm so if they manage kill their victim, they will feel the same pain but they will not die.”

“What about using weapons?” 

“The intent to harm is still there so they will feel the same pain as their victim, although again they will not be physically harmed.”

“What about really painful injuries; pain can cause heart attacks.”

“In that instance, I would say that is karma. They meant to hurt another to that degree and if it is painful enough to cause a heart attack, then they deserve to face that same risk themselves, no? Of course, my hope is that once people realise that any pain they inflict will be reflected back, they will learn to control their tempers.”

“What about people who like pain?”

“Explain.” Loki cocked his head slightly.

Rhiannon blushed so deeply that her healthy cheek almost matched the one that felt slapped. 

“There are some people who like certain activities, like being spanked or whipped.”

“And they enjoy that?” Loki looked mildly surprised.

“They consent to it and… well I don’t know if they enjoy it, but they want it so they must get something out of it.”

“Tell me more about such relationships.”

Rhiannon shrugged. “I honestly don’t know much more.”

“But you know they exist.” 

“Yes, and sure, power play can be sexy and I’m all or being tied up, but I draw the line at pain. If I were you, I’d google BDSM.” She searched her mind frantically, looking for another topic of discussion, anything to get them off kinky sex. 

“I shall.” 

“And there’s training and sparing.” 

“Contact sports,” he nodded. “Yes I must account for those types of injuries also. Perhaps some sort of consent based immunity clause.”

“And self-defence.”

“That should be easy enough to account for, if the intent is to protect rather than to harm. Thank you for your help.”

He turned away and headed to his desk, essentially dismissing her, so she left, taking the water glass with her. 

She usually worked from the office next door to Loki now, although when they visited other countries that wasn’t always possible. Her job was twofold. First she was tasked with keeping in contact with all his advisors, who were 700 people from all walks of life, all ages, genders, social classes, religions, and ethnicities. They had been hand chosen by Rhiannon to accurately reflect the demographics of the world. She hoped to expand the list so they had a broader base of opinions but for now, 700 had to be enough.

Their job was to comment on Loki’s ideas and vote yes, no, or yes with amendments, and give their opinions. 

She seemed to be his first stop to run his ideas by and she was now used to playing devil’s advocate for him. Then, when he felt an idea was ready, she contacted the mailing list via email and asked for their input. It had been their opinions which meant that 300 million dollars was the maximum wealth any one person could own, arrived at because it was the mean number of all their suggested limits. People could earn more than that, but the excess had to be spent or given away by the end of the year, or Loki’s government would claim it for themselves as tax. 

Implementing that, and seizing the billions people had hoarded, especially those they had hidden, almost sparked a new rebellion. Unfortunately for the rich, few non-billionaires were willing to risk their lives so that someone else could remain filthy rich, and the rich certainly weren’t willing to risk their own lives, so the rebellion never got further than a series of television interviews and propaganda adverts. Life was already improving for many though, so they were happy, even eager to see what could happen if wealth were more evenly distributed.

Rhiannon was also tasked with liaising with the councils that were being set up around the world, and her language skills helped here since, while she wasn’t fluent in any non-European languages, she was quickly learning some Chinese, Indian and Arabic, among others. Most of the councils had appointed an English speaker as their liaison but it helped maters when Rhiannon could also speak their language. It was a mark of respect if nothing else. 

She spent the rest of her morning fielding emails from various councils. Mostly she was answering queries about their scope, limits, powers and the minutia of how it would actually work. They had intended to have 6 primary councils, one for each inhabited continent (they weren’t counting Antarctica) but the way each council worked was proving harder to decide and obviously, there were many squabbles. 

For example, China was pushing for its own council since they had one seventh of the global population, Ukraine refused to be on a council with Russia, the USA wanted Native Americans to have only one representative on the council, while France, the UK and Germany were all insisting that their own language be the official council language, and many, many more petty squabbles that she was expected to referee. To add insult to injury, they weren’t even finalised yet, so all this was before they actually began holding meetings and feeding back their findings.

Before long she could see herself needing help, maybe even a whole department. To be honest, when she volunteered for this position, she hadn’t dreamed it would be so involved. 

And this was just one small part of Loki’s government. 

Now she worked closer with him she saw everything else he dealt with, the budgets, the governments, the banks, making sure his edicts were implemented, and a million other things that just seemed like far too much for one person to accomplish. Of course, he had a lot of people like her, who did the leg work and simply told him the results of their work, but it still seemed like a lot for one man. 

She had to admit, she was developing a grudging respect for his work ethic. 

His secretary, Amanda, called that afternoon and she went to see him again. He was waiting exactly as he had been that morning so she was wary of another surprise. 

“Strike me again,” he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Rhiannon approached slowly, obviously unwilling. 

“Thanks but no thanks.”

“I’ve amended the spell,” he explained. “It now takes account of the victim’s feelings too. If I want to get hit, then there is no recoil back on you.” 

Unwilling to have her left cheek hit again, she raised her left hand and after a few hesitations, managed a reasonable slap. She felt nothing herself however and raised her right hand.

“I wouldn’t,” Loki said with a smirk. “I wanted you to hit me the first time, but no longer.”

Slightly peeved, she lowered her hand. 

“Your hesitation proves that once the kinks are worked out, this should be a very effective deterrent.”

“Can you really cast a spell on the whole world?”

“On my own, no, but with two powerful infinity stones it becomes child play.”

She had to admit, this did seem like a good deterrent, and without drunken (and other) assaults, it would free up a lot of police time to investigate other crimes. 

“And it won’t work when people are competing or training?” 

“Competitive circumstances will be slightly harder to do, I need to differentiate between someone who simply expects to be hit and may be resigned to it, and someone who is competing. Oh, and the reflected force will be greater for those striking a child.”

Rhiannon tried to think of a reason that might be wrong but she couldn’t think of a single objection so with a nod, she left him to it. 

***

**November 2013**

Rhiannon was standing with a few other members of Loki’s staff, staring in horror at the television screen as the studio reporter spoke with an on scene reporter. 

_ ‘The rebel group, the Sons of Revolution, have taken responsibility for the bombing and we understand that the police have two members of the group in custody,’ _ the studio reporter explained.

_ ‘The police haven’t confirmed who they have arrested or their affiliation, but they do have confirmed that two people have been arrested and taken for questioning,’ _ the reporter at the scene replied.

_ ‘And do we have an update on the numbers killed and injured?’ _

_ “The latest update we have is two dead and four critically injured.’  _

_ ‘Obviously the security forces there are on high alert.’ _

_ ‘Yes, Richard, the police are on high alert for the possibility of additional attacks and-’ _ the woman paused and listened to something in her ear piece.  _ ‘We’re just being told that Loki has authorised the National Guard to assist in securing the city and-’ _

They all jumped as one of the large wooden doors to their wing of the palace hit the doorstop so hard that it sounded like a gun shot.

Loki strode through with a face that would turn milk sour and slammed his office door behind him with yet another crash. 

Then the real noise started as with a great roar then the unmistakable sound of breaking furniture could he heard. The staff listened in silence, the television muted, until there surely couldn’t be anything more to break. 

Rhiannon couldn’t help but think about her own bomb; had Loki reacted in the same way then too? He had seemed furious but in control when he dealt with her but maybe he’d waited until he was alone to let is feeling out. 

The silence weighed heavily on them and Rhiannon held her breath, wondering what mood Loki would be in when he reappeared. The quiet stretched on until Amanda, Loki’s Executive Assistant, broke it. 

“All right, we’re going to have a lot of work today, so let’s get to it and sort this as soon as possible. Ted, I’ll book interviews with the major global news outlets, you know what to say. Alice, coordinate with city officials and see what they need, we’ll give them all the resources they need to recover from this. Doug, talk to the Security Council and find out how we knew nothing of this-”

“No one expects terrorists to attack countries when Loki isn’t there,” Doug answered. 

“I know, but the Belgian security forces should still have heard something. Also longer term, see what additional measures can be put in place to prevent future attacks like this. Rhiannon, reach out to your pool of people and see how people are taking this. We need to know if Loki is being blamed or not.” 

“Why would they blame him when he wasn’t even there?” she asked. 

“I don’t know, but I expect you know more about bombings than we all do,” she said pointedly. 

Suitably chastened and feeling even more ashamed that she already did, Rhiannon shut up. 

No one here had ever mentioned her bomb and she had begun to think that it was forgotten, but clearly she was wrong. 

Amanda called out a few more orders and the group dispersed when she returned to her desk. Rhiannon followed her. 

“Should someone check on him?” Rhiannon nodded to Loki’s office. 

“He’ll be long gone,” Amanda explained. 

“Gone where?”

“To help.” She regarded Rhiannon. Something she saw in Rhiannon’s demeanour must have appeased her though as she softened. “Loki will clear up the mess in his office when he returns but you can help me make sure nothing has been left dangerously in the meantime.” 

She ushered Rhiannon into the office and quickly closed the door behind them. 

Rhiannon was shocked by the devastation. Everything seemed broken, the desk, chairs, the tables, vases, even the metal trays were scrunched up like a ball of paper. 

“I can’t believe this,” she breathed. “He’s usually so… together.”

“You should have seen him after your bomb, he was almost inconsolable,” Amanda said as she checked the plugs to make sure no water had been splashed on them. “He quite likes you so he took it more personally than most.”

“Then why did he let me go?”

Amanda stood up and righted a three legged chair as she rose. 

“Because he was able to heal everyone who was hurt.”

Rhiannon was slack jawed with shock at these new revelations, she didn’t think she’d hurt anyone. 

“The blast was fairly contained but it blew out the windows,” she pointed to them and Rhiannon looked for signs of the damage she might have done. 

“A few passers-by were hit by the flying glass but one was stabbed in the arm by a shard, it nicked the radial artery but he was the only serious injury.”

“And Loki healed him and still let me go?”

“He did. Loki always knew there would be resistance and he decided early on that as long as none of his subjects died, he would show the rebels mercy. I gather from some things he’s said, that he has some understanding of rigid leadership and he hoped that by showing mercy, people would realise that he had humanity’s best interests at heart.”

Rhiannon went to the windows and looked down into the street below. 

“Two people died instantly,” Rhi said, recalling the news report they’d just listened to. What she really wanted to ask was, what would Loki do to the bombers.

“He’ll find the bastards who did it,” Amanda assured her. “In the past they’ve been tried for murder by human justice. This time though…” 

“What’s different this time?” 

“Well they weren’t after Loki,” She explained. “The bomb was planted with the sole intention of killing humans, so I can’t say what he’ll do to them.”

“So he’s gone to look for who was behind it?” 

“He’s gone there so he can use his magic to help. He claims he’s not a good healer but I’ve seen him heal awful wounds, then he’ll repair any property damage, then he’ll find out who did it.”

“And he does that after every attack?”

“Well usually he’s already on site since they’re normally trying to assassinate him but yes, he always tries to help.”

“What if this was some sort of decoy, to lure Loki there?” 

“He always disguises himself,” Amanda assured her. “He knows he’s the real target so he uses his magic to change his appearance. He’ll look like a paramedic, or a fireman, or a police officer. The disguises, especially the uniforms, allow him to go where he needs without being questioned too much.”

Rhiannon looked around the devastation in his office. 

“By the way, this is covered by the non-disclosure agreement you signed when you came on board. If you try to tell anyone that Loki has gone to help, you’ll find yourself mute for a week.”

“I can't talk about it with anyone?” 

“Only level 5 staff who have also signed NDAs, like me.”

Rhiannon nodded her understanding. “You know, I got the first global report on the non-violence spell last night. The first quarter figures look really good, all violent crimes are down by at least 80%. I was going to tell him at the morning briefing.”

Amanda sighed, sharing Rhiannon’s sadness. 

“One of his biggest triumphs ruined by senseless killing,” she went on. “It isn’t fair.”

“No it isn’t,” Amanda agreed. “But Loki’s trying to change that.”

“I know,” she agreed. “If only they could see what we see every day, they would know he was doing good.”

“Anyone with eyes can see he’s doing good,” Amanda corrected. “Unfortunately the people who most dislike fairness and justice, are the hateful ones who want to continue to penalise others with impunity.”

“You think that was me?” Rhiannon sounded shocked. 

“No, I just think you were an idealist but then as far as we can tell—unlike these people—you went out of your way to try and make sure that others weren’t harmed.”

Rhiannon turned away from the window and the destruction Loki had wrought struck her anew. 

“Doesn’t this worry you?” She asked. 

“Everyone has a temper,” Amanda reminded her. “Especially when people are murdered. Personally I’d much rather he took it out on inanimate objects before dealing with real people.”

“You’ve never feared him?” 

“Never,” she said, staring into Rhiannon’s eyes so the young woman knew that she meant it. 

***

Rhiannon worked with her door open all day, hoping she’d see Loki when he returned but even although everyone was working late in light of the day’s events, people began to leave for the day until eventually only she remained. 

By 9pm she had literally finished every report that she could and had checked on the data for the projects that hadn’t yet reached their due date, sending reminders out to the email list members who hasn’t yet responded, not that a response was mandatory but if they failed to respond to five topics in a row, they would be replaced. 

She was jokingly known as Datamine among some in the office, since she compiled the information from the global councils and committees into useful documents.

She checked her emails and saw a few that had come in, which she answered.

She considered calling someone for a chat but even if there was anyone, she wasn’t really in the mood for a light-hearted chat. 

Her parents were dead and she had no siblings, then she’d lost most of her friends when she joined the resistanc—they didn’t want any trouble so she left them behind. Then she’d lost her friends in the resistance when she agreed to work for Loki. That left her with a handful of people from work that she was starting to trust, none of whom she was very close to yet. 

Finally she heard something and grabbing up her report, she headed out into the hallway and saw a greenish light coming from under Loki’s door. 

She approached with caution and tapped softly on his door. 

“Enter.” 

She opened it with hesitation and saw great green swirls of light travelling around Loki’s office, repairing the damage he’d done earlier. 

“Yes?” Loki stood in the middle and was looking at her, his expression tired and rather blank. If she didn’t know any better she’d day he was still angry. 

She stepped into his office but didn’t close the door and kept the report pressed against her chest, held in place by her arms, which were wrapped around her own chest. 

“I…” she took a deep breath. “I have the first report on the non-violence spell. I thought…” her voice trailed off as she realised how stupid she sounded, talking about a report that could very easily wait until morning. 

“And the truth?” Loki asked. 

“I… I was waiting for you. I wanted to say…” she stepped closer. “I wanted to say, I’m sorry. I genuinely thought you were the enemy and I did what I thought I had to. But I was wrong, I see that now, and I’m sorry.”

His cool expression was warming slightly and her defensive posture loosened. 

“And I wanted to say thank you,” she continued. “I didn’t realise anyone had been seriously injured and if you hadn’t saved them-” she was starting to choke up as finally vocalising this made her realise how close she came to killing someone. “So thank you.”

He regarded her for a few long moments before finally replying with, “You’re welcome,” and a very slight smile. 

“Well, I’d better . . .” she gestured towards the door with the report, stepping backwards as her words trailed off. 

“Thank you,” he told her, which stopped her dead.

“Me?” she spun around, surprised. 

“Sometimes it’s hard for me to know if I’m really making a difference.”

And changing the mind of a former bomber was very tangible proof that he was changing hearts and minds.

“I should have said it sooner,” she smiled and stepped backwards. 

“Why don’t you stay and we can talk about your report,” he offered. 

“You must be tired, it can wait.” 

“It can wait, yes, but I’m curious. So come, sit, share some dinner with me while we talk about your findings.”

She looked around and found that the office was almost back to normal and headed to the cluster of sofas he’d gestured to. When the green energy finally dissipated, Loki gestured to the coffee table before her and another green glow transformed into a tray with two plates. Another flick of his wrist and the table grew in until it was the perfect height to eat from. 

Loki sat opposite and she placed the report down and dished out the cutlery and plates. 

“This looks lovely,” she noted as she removed the steel cloche to reveal a steak pie, mash and gravy; her favourite meal.

“So,” Loki said as he picked up his fork, “What does your report say?” 

“We don’t have to do this now,” she offered. He looked so tired, she’d never seen him with dark circles under his eyes before. 

“Now is as good a time as any. Besides, I could use some good news.” 

“Okay. Well the good news is that it’s definitely working, but not as perfectly as we’d hoped. Violence has dropped by about 60% over all, which is fantastic, don’t get me wrong-”

“But we should be aiming higher. Wine?” 

He conjured a bottle and two glasses and poured before she could even comprehend what she’d been asked. She reached out and took her glass, sipping the beverage to sooth her nerves which had been fraying all day while she waited to apologise to him.

“So, what do we do to improve those figures?” He asked, taking a rather long sip of wine. 

“Part of it, I think, is that a lot of people are first time offenders. They need to experience the pain themselves in order to learn to curb their behaviour. Repear offenders are down to 92%, which means it's working, although not perfectly.  I was going to suggest making the force of the reflected pain stronger, to it acts as a greater deterrent, like it already does for those who hit a child. Or perhaps it's possible for the pain to increase on a gradient, first offence they feel the same pain as their victim, second offence, they feel 50% more pain than their victim, that kind of thing."

Loki nodded slowly as he considered it. 

She wanted to ask how things went at the bomb site, and why he disguised his identity when helping would surely garner him a lot of good will, but she didn’t feel that they were on firm enough ground for her to get personal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I began this 3 years ago but lost confidence in it after some negative comments. Given the shit show we're living through right now, someone recently suggested I dust this off and try to finish it. I hope you're enjoying it and thank you for your kind comments.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Present Day**

The train stopped in Paris and Rhiannon directed the warriors, Thor and her guards out of the carriage. 

“Why have we stopped?” Thor demanded. 

“Because it's getting late and we need to change trains, and so that I can show you how France is doing under Loki’s rule. I also made us an appointment at the Institute of Green Energy. They’re leading the way on new technologies that won’t pollute our atmosphere.” 

“All new cars are electric now,” Peter added. 

“And by giving discounts and grants to help people upgrade,” Sarah chipped in, “75% of all cars are now electric, 92% in developed countries.” 

“Green technology has also brought heating bills down by an average of 73%,” Rhiannon smiled, leading them out of the station. “All new buildings have solar panels, and through subsidies and grants, 60% of older buildings have had them installed too. In another 5 years, almost the entire planet will be powered by clean, renewable energy.” 

“The oil companies were pissed,” Sarah laughed. “They tried to stage demonstrations but their employees were all offered alternative jobs so the turnout was pitiful, confined to shareholders and Vice Presidents, all worried that their profits were about to tank.” 

“Speaking of, what did Loki do to re-distribute the wealth?” Thor asked. 

He was looking around as they walked and noticing how happy people were. 

“I’ll get to that,” Rhiannon said as she led them into a hotel and checked them in. She paid using a card and they were shown to neighbouring rooms on the second floor. 

“Not the penthouse?” Peter sounded surprised as she pressed 2 in the elevator. 

“I’m a government official,” Rhiannon said with a cheeky smile. “I can’t be seen to be wasting public money. We’re in a four star hotel in honour of our guests, but the penthouse would be extravagant.” 

“If you’d told the front desk who you were, they’d probably have given us the rooms for free, and upgraded you.” 

“And what would they have expected from a government official in return?” she asked. “Besides, it’s a perk other people don’t get so we shouldn’t either.” She led them out of the lift and explained, “Loki arranged for toiletries and a change of clothes to be sent, hopefully they’re waiting in your rooms.” 

“Why did you not pack?” Thor asked, noticing her lack of luggage.

“I left at the last minute.” 

“And we brought overnight bags,” Sara held up her tote. Pete had a backpack. 

“Rest up,” Rhiannon told the Asgardians. “I’ll take you out to dinner this evening and we can talk more.” 

*** 

**January 2014**

_“In the last 6 months incidents of violent crime have fallen by 91% according to French police, with domestic violence among the most rapidly declining forms of violence. Some other effects of King Loki’s violence prohibition is that murders have also decreased by 94%, and child physical abuse by a similar amount. The National Society for the Protection of Children, Barnardo’s and the Red Cross are also calling on Loki to find a way to prohibit emotional and sexual abuse in children, as well as neglect.”_

Rhiannon closed the window on her computer once she’d heard the headlines as Loki was expecting her. 

Loki’s work ethic impressed Rhiannon and even more, his willingness to listen to all points of view before making a decision. As well as Rhiannon he had now 20 key advisers, the Avengers among them. They were still kicking up a fuss, demanding to be freed but slowly they were learning to trust him. 

Not everyone’s opinion counted equally of course. He gave more weight to Stark’s opinion when it came to technical matters, Banner with regards humanitarian topics, Romanoff for law and order matters, and Barton for social care. He also had experts in many fields on call so he could listen to different viewpoints on the same subject. University lecturers were very happy to help Loki since they had seen their pay increase by an average of 70%. 

Rhiannon was a general adviser, Jo Public as she liked to call herself, but she wasn’t the only one without a speciality. 

The Avengers advised Loki via video conferencing since most of them still professed a desire to kill him. They were housed in separate secure dwellings around the globe, given free run of the house but it was sealed with magic, so they couldn’t escape. They had staff come and go who bought them everything they needed, but the magic ensured that only prearranged people could enter and exit. Should the Avengers try any escape plan, even just talking to someone about it, they would become paralysed. That was Loki’s first use of what he now dubbed prohibitive justice. 

Rhiannon thought that they might be warming up to Loki, just a little and when asked, they always gave their opinion, sometimes very colourfully but they gave it. 

They also had access to the internet and television, so they could see for themselves how things were changing for the better but it was not even 18 months since Loki invaded and they just couldn’t seem to overcome the mind-set that Loki was evil. They all believed that the news reports were being faked to some degree and simply couldn’t or wouldn’t admit that people’s lives were getting better. 

Rhiannon wanted to let them out, one at a time, so they could see for themselves that life was better, and hopefully convince the others. Loki was hesitant however, believing that they would never trust him. 

After a year in his employ—not counting when she worked here as a rebel—Rhiannon was willing to admit that she had Loki all wrong but there was one thing that troubled her. Two to three times month, Loki went somewhere on his own. He used his magic to travel, so she couldn’t even track him. He also got certain phone calls that she and everyone else was required to leave the room for, and she had no idea what they were talking about. She had tried listening at the door but it was always as silent as the grave in Loki’s office so she knew he must be using magic to stop people eavesdropping. 

They were in Budapest at the moment and with the day’s meetings over with, Loki and Rhiannon were sharing a dinner of local stew. They were staying in a palace but only because of the number of people Loki travelled with. Following a corruption case, he now had a small army of business people and accountants who followed him around the globe and made sure that country’s governments weren’t siphoning funds off. It was time consuming and labour heavy, with teams needed to oversee every country in the world, but it was necessary. 

“Are humans always so predatory?” Loki asked while they ate. 

“Huh?” 

“Stealing funds from their fellow man.” 

“Not all humans, but enough to bugger things up sometimes.” 

“Why does the threat of taking away all their funds not deter them?” 

“Because no one breaks a law thinking they’re going to get caught. The reason your violence prohibition works is because the punishment is immediate. They can try and try but every single time they will feel the same pain they inflict. Crimes like this, what we call white collar crimes, don’t start with embezzling millions, or even thousands. They do it once for a few quid, and nothing happens. They do it again for a bit more, again they aren’t caught and punished and if they are, the penalty will be small and the crime can possibly passed off as a mistake. By the time they’re embezzling thousands, they’ve become very good at covering their tracks and they don’t think they’ll be caught.”

“We need to do more.”

“Well, you have the banks reporting suspicious transactions to you.” 

“It’s not enough though,” Loki lamented. “We’re playing catch up, always a step behind and yes, we punish the wrongdoers and confiscate their own funds, but it rarely covers what they stole and that money has often been spent.” 

“If only you could use your magic to stop people stealing, like you use it to stop the Avengers leaving.” 

Loki tilted his head to the side. 

“You’re actually considering it?” she asked. 

“Ordinarily I wouldn’t but given that I now possess two infinity stones, it might be possible.” Slowly a smile formed on his lips and he looked at her. “Very good idea, darling. I like it.” 

He’d never called her darling before and she found herself liking it. 

“Such a large spell will need careful consideration though, the parameters must be exact.” 

***

**July 2014**

The anti-theft and anti-violence spells had worked well and Loki was considering expanding them. As such, he had convened his council of advisors. Some were here in person, others by video camera. 

“Welcome,” Loki said as he entered the room. 

Rhiannon smiled at him from her seat in the front. He had already discussed this with her in an attempt to find any faults with it before presenting it to his advisors. 

“As you know, my anti-theft spell has put an end to people taking money that does not belong to them and has had the unintended effect of ending burglary, looting and mugging. This has had the added benefit of reducing the pressure on the court system and a corresponding reduction in the prison populations. 

“As such, I’m considering expanding the spell to cover other misdeeds and I’m looking for your opinions on what laws to enforce this way, and what magical penalties to impose.” 

“Could you give us an example?” Rhiannon asked. 

“Of course. Let’s use murder, arguably the worst crime. The non-violence spell has stopped many murders, but those killings that can done from a distance, using bombs, poisons, guns, that sort of thing, can still succeed, and it also hasn’t stopped some crimes of passion, when anger literally overrides the self-preservation instinct. The mind stone can monitor all minds on earth for murderous impulses and thoughts. When these thoughts and impulses occur we have a few options. First of all, my spell can freeze them so they cannot commit murder. The police force can then collect the individual in question and it can be determined if the thought was just an impulse that has passed, or if they still pose a danger to anyone. In the latter instance, they will be rehabilitated.” 

“What about free will?” Tony Stark asked. He was linked into the discussion by video and because he was still pissed off at Loki, he was inclined to be as argumentative as he could be. 

“I would argue that a person’s right not to be murdered trumps the right to free will,” Loki countered. “But I do understand that free will is important to your people, thus I have other options. Rather than freezing and being prevented from murdering anyone, any murderous acts can be reflected back on themselves, so they are free to hurt, maim, and kill, but what they do to someone else will also be done to them.” 

“So if they stab someone, as well as feeling the pain they inflicted, they’ll have a stab wound too?” Bruce asked. 

“Exactly,” Loki nodded. “Free will is intact but a person had to decide if the penalty is worth the crime. In the case of what you call crimes of passion, that is an impulse control disorder. However something tells me that most people who snap and let their temper get the better of them will soon learn the error of their ways. Those few who genuinely cannot control themselves will receive help.” 

He looked around both at the faces and screens before him, all of which seemed thoughtful. 

“Now this is just one application but we could also use this magic to prevent a hundred other crimes, both large and small. This would have the benefit of punishing wrongdoers without criminalising them, allowing them to keep their employment and homes, and yet making the world a safer and more harmonious place for everyone. So without further ado, I open the floor for discussion.” 

“You can’t take away free will,” Tony argued. 

“So you think people should be allowed to murder?” Michael asked. He was Loki’s second Executive Assistant and a new key adviser. 

“No, but that’s why we punish murderers.” 

“But what if we could prevent the murders? Prevention is better than cure.” 

The discussion went back and forth for the next three hours, and Loki listened to everyone’s points with interest. These discussions were good not just because he was able to see all sides of an argument played out, but also because they helped him to understand Midgardians. 

After three hours though, the same ground was being re-covered and Loki knew he had got as much use as he could from this particular discussion. 

“Thank you,” he said, simultaneously muting everyone's microphones for a few moments, so his was the only voice heard. “You have given me much to think about. Now I would like to ask you go away and consider what offences this magic should cover, and what you believe a proportional penalty should be. We will reconvene this time next week and continue this discussion.” 

“What if we think this is a bad idea and you shouldn’t do it?” Tony challenged him. 

“Then you have a week to come up with a convincing argument.” He stood up. “Good day and thank you all for your help.” 

He swept from the room, as regal and princely as ever. 

Rhiannon got up and unhurriedly, made her way from the room, chatting to some of the other advisors on her way out. 

Most advisers only worked one day a week and were reimbursed for their time at minimum wage. Loki didn’t want any one human to have too much power, nor for politics to become a path to wealth. 

There were a few exceptions to that. Rhiannon, Amanda and Michael attended all advisor sessions but they also worked for Loki so she received a salary, although they didn’t get any extra pay for also being an advisor. 

The Avengers and a few former SHIELD agents also advised on most topics but they were imprisoned and unpaid, although Loki covered their living expenses.

Rhiannon split off from the advisers, most of whom were leaving the building, to head towards her office where she paused to tap on Loki’s door. 

“Come,” he called, so she let herself in. “Thank you for your help in there, Rhiannon,” he smiled. 

“No worries,” she sat down in the chair opposite his desk. “Do you want me to have the discussion transcribed?” 

“No, thank you. The next meeting will be the important one. Keep the recording but I wouldn’t bother typing them up.” 

“Is there anything else you need?” 

“I’ll be taking a day off tomorrow, Amanda will field all my calls so leave a message with her if you want anything.” 

“Of course.” She nodded. “Going anywhere nice?” 

“Just taking time to recharge,” he told her. “I deserve one day off a month, don’t I?” 

“Of course, I wasn’t-” 

“I know,” he cut her off with a smile. 

Rhiannon knew he wasn’t just taking time off, she knew he went somewhere and that he carefully dodged her questions about where he went and why. She also knew that being direct was unlikely to yield her the answers she wanted. Perhaps if she had something to bargain with then she could force an answer from him, but she had nothing he wanted. 

“Tonight,” Loki said, distracting her from her thoughts. “Will you dine with me?” 

“Don’t we usually?” Rhiannon looked confused since they ate together quite a few times a week. The dining room here was public and why Loki so often ate with Rhiannon was a common topic of conversation. Some assumed she was the only one brave enough to ask to sit at his table, while others assumed they were lovers. 

Neither was correct, it was because they were friends. 

“I was thinking of something more intimate… just you and I, away from the watchful gaze of the rabble.” 

Rhiannon’s heart stuttered for a few seconds. “Are you asking me out?” That thought didn’t horrify her as it might once have done.

“I was thinking of dining in our rooms, or in this office if you prefer, but we could leave the building if you would like.” 

“No,” she smiled. His slang was still lacking in some areas. “I mean, are you asking me on a date.” 

“It’s December 5th 2013. What does that have to do with anything?” 

“No,” she tried not to smile too widely as she though of another way to phrase it. “Are you asking to court me.” 

“Ah, yes, I suppose I am.” 

Suddenly Rhiannon felt panicked. 

She and Loki had been growing closer over the last 18 months, and she had grown to respect him in ways she couldn’t have imagined. She would be lying if she said that she wasn’t insanely attracted to him but just 2 years after he destroyed New York, was she really ready to date him? 

“It’s all right,” Loki told her, taking her silence as a ‘no’. 

“No, I want to. I’d love to have dinner with you.” 

Perhaps if she could grow closer to him, he might open up and share the reasons behind his attack, as well as disclosing things like where he disappeared to for one day every few weeks. 

Loki’s answering smile was warm and tender. 

“I shall have a tray brought in here then. How does 7 sound?” 

It was the time they usually met but Loki’s hesitance was oddly endearing. She had met calm Loki, confident Loki, self-possessed Loki, angry Loki, sad Loki, elegant Loki, and thoughtful Loki. She had never met vulnerable Loki before, and she found that she quite liked that facet of him. 

***

**Present Day**

Rhiannon, her guards, Thor, and the warriors were seated in a bistro recommended by the hotel staff and as the Asgardians commented on how nice the wine and the décor and food in general was, Rhiannon smiled to herself as she remembered how hard Loki had had to work to get her to go to a restaurant with him. He’d been so hurt, he thought she was ashamed of him.

Eventually the conversation turned back to the topic of Loki. 

“You said you would explain Loki’s wealth distribution,” Thor reminded her. 

“I did,” she said, sipping her wine. “That part was easy, actually. Money is mostly digital these days and Loki ordered the banks themselves to transfer the funds to his global government account.” 

“He stole their money?” Fandral laughed. 

“Well according to Oxfam, when Loki came to power, the top 2% owned the same amount of wealth as the other 98% combined, that meant half the wealth in the world was in the hands on 2% of the population. So Loki set a limit on how much wealth a person could own, 300 million dollars per person, a maximum of one billion per family, which is more money than anyone can spend in a lifetime. Of course, they’re free to earn more money but they have to spend it so it goes back into the economy or the excess will be confiscated; that way no one can hoard too much of the planet’s wealth or resources at one time. He then upped taxes globally for the wealthy, cut taxes for the poorest, and upped the minimum wage, or introduced it where it didn't exist, and instituted a universal wage.” 

“And that solved everything?” Volstagg asked. 

“No,” Rhiannon smiled. “But it was a start and it gave Loki the funds for other projects, such as building social housing which charges reasonable rents, bringing all rental prices down. Then there’s free healthcare, free higher education, improved social care.” 

“And banks just gave you their client’s money?” Peter asked. He and Sarah didn’t regularly guard Rhiannon so he was as inquisitive as everyone else. Few people had much insight into what went on behind Loki’s closed doors. 

“Loki used the mind stone pretty liberally when he first got here, so the banks knew they had to cooperate or be forced to, and if they didn’t, Loki would still take all the money but they’d also be fired.” She turned to the Asgardians. “Loki likes a controlled capitalist system, but he understands that greed can make people do bad things so for certain infractions, they lose all their money, even the 300 million per person.” 

“What kind of infractions?” Sif asked. 

“People running companies that pollute to save money, people who put profits over lives, people who try to avoid paying their taxes, those kinds of things. Loki’s very big on punishments fitting crimes so greed that harms people means you lose the money you love so much.” 

“How does not paying taxes harm?” Volstagg wanted to know. 

“Because you’re denying revenue that keeps children educated, makes the sick well, and a hundred and one other things. Plus, it’s just unfair not to pay tax when everyone else is, especially when you’re that rich and can far better afford to pay tax than your average man on the street.” 

“What other punishments does he have?” Fandral asked. Of all the warriors, he was the most amused by her stories.

“Well basically, what people do to someone else will be done to them. People who raise their hand to strike another will feel the sensation of being hit themselves, but more painful. Prejudice is almost a thing of the past because people who try to say something sexist or racist or homophobic, etc. suddenly find they can’t talk. Loki implemented that after he heard someone say that if you can’t say anything nice, you shouldn’t say anything at all.” 

“So he censors people?” Volstagg asked.

“No,” Rhiannon tried to explain. “You can I can sit here and debate whether homosexuality is a sin and I can say that the bible says that gays will burn in hell. What I can’t do it turn to you and call you a-” Her lips kept moving but no sound came out.

“It takes some getting used to,” Peter admitted. “Basically you can do or say what you like, you just can't try to bully or hurt someone with words.”

“And who decided on how long the punishment lasts, not to mention, who carries it out?” Thor asked. 

Rhiannon held up a finger than took a sip of water. She sat silently for a minute, glancing at her watch occasionally, until the mute spell wore off. 

“Magic carries the punishment out,” Rhiannon looked surprised by the question. 

“Magic? He polices seven billion people with magic?” 

“Well he does have the tesseract and the mind stone to help power it. As for how long a punishment lasts, that was determined by a council of human advisers. It was humans who decided that 300 million was the most any one person could own. The spell them takes into account the damage you do, or intend to do. When I tried to say that slur, I didn’t actually intend to offend anyone, I was just demonstrating, so the magic only silenced me for 60 seconds.” 

“What if no one’s around to hear?” Hogun asked. 

“The mind stone still sees their actions and reads their intent, and if they intend to record hate speech so they can play a recording of a slur when they’re silenced, then no, they won’t be able to speak even if they’re alone.”

“Did people try that?” Fandral asked. 

“Some people tried all sorts of ways around it, it turns out that there are an awful lot of people who are really addicted to being hateful.”

***

**November 2014**

Loki strolled into Rhiannon’s office without knocking, but that was nothing new. 

“I have procured us tickets to a West End Show tomorrow evening,” he stated.

“Uh,” Rhiannon took a moment to process that. “What show?” 

“Oh, um, I forget the name. I am assured it is one of the best. Something about miserable French people.” 

“Les Misérables?”

“Yes, that is the one. One of the best pieces of theatre ever written, I’m told. I thought we might have dinner beforehand.” 

“I… I don’t have anything to wear.” 

“I anticipated that. I have arranged for the retailer, John Lewis, to attend later today, they will bring a selection of gowns for you to choose from.”

“Don’t you have an all-day meeting with the Equality Trust tomorrow?”

“We shall be finished in plenty of time.”

“But… Why don’t we just rent the movie version, then we can watch it naked and stuff.”

“It is I thought," he concluded, his voice turning cold. "You do not wish to be seen with me." He turned to leave. 

“Loki, how could you say that?” 

“Because you never want to leave these walls!” He didn’t raise his voice but she could feel how angry he was. “I suggest a restaurant, but you say July is too busy and it will he hellish. I suggest visiting the local sights, but you say they will be thronged with people and we will spend hours queuing. I propose a walk but you say it’s either too hot, too wet, or too cold to be outside for long. I offer to take you anywhere you would like to go but you suddenly have a lot of work to catch up on, I make sure your workload is light and suggest the cinema but suddenly you have a headache coming on! I can only conclude that you are ashamed to be seen with me.” 

He turned away and she ran around the desk, grabbing his arm before he could leave. 

“Loki, wait, please.”

He turned back but from the set of his jaw, it wasn’t going to be easy to talk him around. 

“Just hear me out, please.” Her office was nowhere near as large as his but she did have a small couch and she dragged him over to the two seater, or rather he allowed himself to be dragged, then she pulled him down beside her. 

Rhiannon sat perched on the edge of her seat and turned to face him, clearly nervous, and she held onto his hand as if she was afraid that he would run the moment she let go. 

“You’re right, I don’t want to be seen outside with you in a romantic sense,” she admitted, “but not for the reasons you think. I don’t know about Asgard but here on Earth we have whole industries fuelled by gossip. Ever since they realised you wouldn’t hang, draw and quarter them, you’re photographed every time you leave here and as soon as they realise we’re in a relationship, everyone will have an opinion about us, and that’s the least of it. We’ll become public property.” 

He looked confused so she tried to elaborate. 

“We’ll cease to be us and become some sort of power couple that gets used to sell magazines and advertising on gossip TV shows and websites. They will literally say whatever they want about us, even making up lies just to get interest.”

“I confess I am unfamiliar with these magazines but I am familiar with celebrity. We did not call it that but Thor and I were known to everyone and much speculated on in our youth.”

“Maybe you’re used to it but I’m not. We’re still new and I’m really enjoying myself. I don’t want anything to mess that up. Can you understand?”

He nodded, remembering how as a youth, he overheard the staff gossiping about him and Thor. It was nonsense, baseless rumours but it had unnerved him none the less. If Midgard truly did have publications dedicated to such falsehoods, he could easily see how his younger self might have, to use Rhiannon’s vernacular, freaked out about it. 

“I can,” he nodded, his posture relaxing. “But I have a suggestion.”

Rhiannon nodded for him to continue and his face lit up in a mischievous smile. 

“How would you feel about a disguise?”

“You mean like a wig and a fake moustache?” she replied with a matching smile. 

“Please darling, give me a little credit.” Suddenly a green shimmer glowed through his skin and clothes and the man left in its wake was a curly redhead with freckles. 

“Oh wow,” she breathed, reaching out towards his face. “Can I touch it?” 

“Of course.” He leaned closer to her hand and she cupped his cheek. 

“It feels so real,” she said with wonder. 

“Of course it does, I’m still me, I just look a little different. Now tell me, have you ever thought of dying your hair?” 

“Um, I’ve wondered what I’d look like as a blonde.”

She saw a green glow around her head and when it faded, Loki produced a handheld mirror from somewhere. 

“Oh wow,” she took the mirror and twisted her head back and forth so her hair swung around her face. 

“I’m afraid I couldn’t bring myself to alter your fine bone structure, I enjoy looking at it too much.” 

Rhiannon grinned at him. “If I wear my makeup a little darker and maybe add some glasses, no one who doesn’t know me well would recognise me. Besides, even if they do, they’ll only see me with my ginger boy toy, Lucky.” 

"You will not call me _Lucky_ ," he said with disdain. 

"No," she agreed, trying to hide her smile. 

“Good. So a date outside the walls of this compound would be acceptable in this state?” 

“It definitely would. We can just be regular people out there, doing regular things.”

“What sort of regular things did you have in mind?” 

“Oh, so much. I mean, granted, you know the posh side of humanity but there’s so much more, like bowling, and the movies, and quaint British pubs. I’ll take you shopping so no one can ever accuse you of not knowing the price of milk again. And there’s so much tourist stuff we can do, so many sights you need to see. We’ll start with the Tower of London; they keep the Crown Jewels in there, well, I’m sure most of them are probably fakes, especially the really expensive stuff, but they’re genuine fakes, if that makes sense, copies of the real thing. Anyway, the oldest parts of the Tower of London date back to the 1100s, so I suppose it’s almost as old as you, but it has a long and fascinating, sometimes gruesome history. You’ll love it.”

“Very well, we shall visit at this week’s end.” He was still having trouble with the concept of a weekend, they don’t have them in Asgard, apparently. 

“Yes! And there are loads of other tourist sites around there we can visit at the same time.”

“I’m hardly a tourist.” 

“Whatever you say, dude, but you haven’t lived until you’ve seen London from the Eye.”

"London has an eye?" he asked in all seriousness. 

"Yep."

"Just the one?" 

“The London Eye is like a huge fairground wheel, but much bigger and the cars are totally enclosed.” She leaned in closer. “Trust me, you’re gonna love it.” She kissed him quickly. 

“Well if there’s more of that, I certainly shall enjoy it.” 

“Plenty more where that came from.”

“Prove it.” 

She leaned in again but pulled back at the last moment. 

“Okay, that look is creeping me out, can you change back, please?” 

“Of course, but that rather negates the point of a disguise.”

She pouted playfully. 

“Close your eyes then kiss me,” he told her. “I assure you that I feel exactly the same.” 

He was right, he did feel the same.


End file.
